Robert Reich: A Globalizing Private Sector, A Government Overwhelmed by Corporate Money

The State of Our Disunion: A Globalizing Private Sector, A Government Overwhelmed by Corporate MoneyMonday, January 23, 2012

Who should have the primary strategic responsibility for making American workers globally competitive – the private sector or government? This will be a defining issue in the 2012 campaign.

In his State of the Union address, President Obama will make the case that government has a vital role. His Republican rivals disagree. Mitt Romney charges the President is putting “free enterprise on trial,” while Newt Gingrich merely fulminates about “liberal elites.”

American business won’t and can’t lead the way to more and better jobs in the United States. First, the private sector is increasingly global, with less and less stake in America. Second, it’s driven by the necessity of creating profits, not better jobs.

The National Science Foundation has just released its biennial report on global investment in science, engineering and technology. The NSF warns that the United States is quickly losing ground to Asia, especially to China. America’s share of global R&D spending is tumbling. In the decade to 2009, it dropped from 38 percent to 31 percent, while Asia’s share rose from 24 to 35 percent. ........(more)

2. k&r

3. A really important paragraph:

Put simply, American workers are hobbled by deteriorating schools, unaffordable college tuitions, decaying infrastructure, and declining basic R&D. All of this is putting us on a glide path toward even lousier jobs and lower wages.

What is really needed is the 21st Century equivalent of FDR's New Deal with higher taxes on the rich and investment in schools and all forms of infrastructure. Sadly, there's little chance of that in the current political climate.

But then, the political climate is changing, thanks to the Occupy movement. Maybe it isn't unrealistic to hold out some hope.

6. Sure, if you can lock up your employees and have them at your beck and call 24/7

Pay them pennies for their work and work them like slaves, as they do in China, you are going to have an unfair competitive advantage over the guy who treats his employees like human beings instead of property.

You can improve the schools, educate everyone in college and have picture perfect infrastructure and those jobs are still never coming back to the US. When you allow one corporation to use illegal and abusive labor practices then they will all use abusive and illegal labor practices in order to be competitive.

What is really needed, and no one talks about, are punitive tariffs on corporations who use slave like conditions. If you can make a widget for 3 cents because you are using China's slave labor then you have no right to sell your widget here in the US, the largest market in the world. A huge tariff equal to the amount it would cost if you treated your labor force humanely should be applied to slave labor imports. Corporations want it both ways. They want to abuse their labor and not have to face tariffs when they try to sell their crap here in the US.